Quenching Oil Question

Kevin, you ain't right. All kidding aside, for the resident experts, is McMaster Carr 11 second quench a good quench for 1095 or 1084. I can get this in as little as 1 gallon from McMaster Carr. I am working to get the heat treat thing right and appreciate any help.
 
I'm indeed back in business with the Parks #50. Prices went up $20 because I have to re-package them so they can be insured in the event of damage.

If you have a UPS account, I can send you one for the original price, but it would be AT YOUR OWN RISK because Heatbath's packaging is not up to UPS code (i.e. if UPS pops the pail, they won't pay). All you have to do to get a UPS account is call them.
 
Try using regular canola oil brought up to about 130 degrees. It works well for my 1095 blades. I think the fancy "quenching oils" are just a gimmick for oil companies to get richer. But that's just my opinion.
 
R.C.Reichert said:
Try using regular canola oil brought up to about 130 degrees. It works well for my 1095 blades. I think the fancy "quenching oils" are just a gimmick for oil companies to get richer. But that's just my opinion.
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1095 is a water quench steel. I don't mean that it is a brine quench steel, it is a true water quench steel and it requires a very fast quench. Canola oil might be just fine for O-1 or even deeper hardening 10xx series steels like 1084, but there's no gimmick about fast oils on shallow hardening steels, you need the speed.
 
Fitzo- Good article, I read it cover to cover. I have a bucket of Parks #50 coming from Patrick. I have 12 blades in 1095 that will be ready to quench this week. When using Parks #50 on 1095 should the oil be heated and if it should be heated to what temperature? At this point I am using a forge to heat the 1095. I am workign to improve my heat treating with a proper quenching oil (still need a heat treat oven though) and any help is appreciated.

Paul
 
Here's the Heat Bath chart on oil temps. Most people are heating their Park 50 to the 100-110F range, I believe.
If you quench multiple blades, you might want to start a little lower than that (and use more volume, of course), as I don't think you should exceed their 120F max too greatly for fear of losing it's quench properties.
 
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AcridSaint said:
1095 is a water quench steel. I don't mean that it is a brine quench steel, it is a true water quench steel and it requires a very fast quench. Canola oil might be just fine for O-1 or even deeper hardening 10xx series steels like 1084, but there's no gimmick about fast oils on shallow hardening steels, you need the speed.
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From what I have read, 1095 quenched in water is very likely to crack or warp. Thats why people use oil of some kind.

I too have a 1095 blade that is ready to be heat treated, and would like to find some common liquid that I could use for it. This is the only blade that I have and I don't know that I will be making many more right away, so something that I could just go to the store and buy would be best for me.

So there is a recommendation on this thread for canola oil, I have also heard that olive oil seams to work pretty well. What about regular old motor oil or something like that? hydraulic oil maybe?
 
The flash point on motor is very low.(FIRE,FIRE). I'd say mineral oil(Use veteranary or equestrian grade) or transmission fluid. May be an option.
 
ginshun said:
From what I have read, 1095 quenched in water is very likely to crack or warp. Thats why people use oil of some kind.

I too have a 1095 blade that is ready to be heat treated, and would like to find some common liquid that I could use for it. This is the only blade that I have and I don't know that I will be making many more right away, so something that I could just go to the store and buy would be best for me.

So there is a recommendation on this thread for canola oil, I have also heard that olive oil seams to work pretty well. What about regular old motor oil or something like that? hydraulic oil maybe?
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Maybe the really professional knife makers are knowledgeable enough and have the quantity of production to warrant buying the high grade quenching oils with their specific properties, but I am pretty much just a hobbyist at this point. I have used regular canola oil and it seems to work just fine for me. I have used regular motor oil on 1095 and it worked just fine as well. I think the important thing is that whatever oil you use should be pre-heated. I like using the canola oil because it doesn't give off hardly any smoke or stink. Motor oil is quite the opposite. Haven't tried the brine quench yet, but I don't find the need to. Also, with canola oil I don't find the flare up an issue as with the motor oil.
 
ginshun said:
From what I have read, 1095 quenched in water is very likely to crack or warp. Thats why people use oil of some kind.

I too have a 1095 blade that is ready to be heat treated, and would like to find some common liquid that I could use for it. This is the only blade that I have and I don't know that I will be making many more right away, so something that I could just go to the store and buy would be best for me.

So there is a recommendation on this thread for canola oil, I have also heard that olive oil seams to work pretty well. What about regular old motor oil or something like that? hydraulic oil maybe?
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You will have more chance to warp/crack your blade, yes. The point to my post was that 1095 requires an extremely fast quench, that's why I'm saying folks should use real quenchant like Heatbath and Houghton make. Motor oil, canola oil, etc are probably going to be too slow this steel.

1095 is a very picky steel, I'd be willing to bet matinsite transformation will not fully occur with any 1095 knife quenched in motor oil. Maybe there's some DIY oil out there that is cheap and perfect for 1095, but why chance it? It's only a few bucks more to get the real deal.

If you don't want to use good oil, then don't buy 1095. 1080/1084 will make a fine knife, it's cheaper and it'll work a lot better with DIY oils.
 
I was reading http://www.houghtonintl.com/images/Hougton on quenching.pdf . I found some companies to contact for both polymer additives and hi-speed HT oils. May be I'm wrong but according to the article mentioned above, polymer solutions are somewhat better quenchants than HT oils. Correct me if I'm wrong. OK, I generally use air hardening steels and I hardly need a liquid quenchant but hamons look so good that I want to give it a try. Do you think I should go for a Polymer or Oil qench for W2, 1095 or carbon damascus? I hate wrapping or cracking issue so I don't even think of water quench....
 
Polymer quench can be mixed faster or slower than oil. Talk to Houghten about their Aqua-quench 140 product if you're interested in these. The only problem with them is in testing for solution.
 
I hear that the fat off an angry bear's arse boiled down makes the best quench of all.
Make sure you really piss him of first though. Or you can even get a nice temper line by sliding edge-first between both cheeks. He won't like it though.
 
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R.C.Reichert said:
.... Or you can even get a nice temper line by sliding edge-first between both cheeks. ....
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I suspect the difficulty would start when trying to train the bear to back up to the forge in the first place. :)
 
He's just kidding, it must have been a slow day. ;)

For what it's worth I've quenched most of my O1 in the cheapest vegetable oil I could buy in gallon jugs. I've had excellent results. Mostly use Tough Quench these days because I felt so cheap and unprofessional using veggie oil... But the veggie oil worked just fine.
 
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